WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hit back at Republicans over the politicization of the IRS scandal on Tuesday, charging that they were silent when the agency went after progressive groups during the George W. Bush administration and now look the other way when Karl Rove blatantly flouts his tax-exempt status.

He also chastised the GOP for obsessing over the alteration of talking points after the Benghazi terrorist attack, rather than working to help increase funding for embassy security nationwide.

"This is not the first time we've seen this," Reid told reporters on Tuesday. "It wasn't long ago that the IRS inappropriately targeted the NAACP, Greenpeace and a California church that was progressive, called the All-Saints Church in Pasadena. It was interesting at that time, we didn't hear a single Republican grandstand the issue then. Where was their outrage when groups on the other side of the political spectrum were under attack?"

"I believe we need to take action to stop this inappropriate behavior at the Internal Revenue Service. I believed it then, I believe it now," he added.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have condemned the revelation, calling for further investigation. Some Republicans have compared the scandal to Watergate. White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday that no one in the White House or on President Barack Obama's political team knew anything about what the IRS was doing.

But as Reid pointed out, the IRS also faced politicization charges during the Bush administration. The agency threatened to revoke the tax-exempt status of a church in California after the pastor gave an anti-Iraq War sermon before the 2004 presidential election -- even while other churches were mobilizing for Bush. The IRS also targeted the NAACP for criticizing Bush and went after Greenpeace -- apparently spurred by a suggestion from an Exxon-Mobil funded organization.

Reid also called on the IRS to give more scrutiny to political nonprofits, known as 501(c)4 organizations under the tax code, that are supposed to be social welfare organizations but are simply acting as political attack groups. In particular, he singled out Karl Rove and his Crossroads GPS behemoth, which spent heavily in the 2012 election attacking Democrats.

"And I ask, what has Karl Rove ever done to improve the social welfare of the United States?" Reid said. "That's what these shadowy organizations are supposed to do; that's what their charter says. His organization, Rove's organizations, have one purpose and one purpose only, and that's to defeat Democrats. Anyone who thinks otherwise is being willfully foolish. Preventing these groups from masquerading as social welfare organizations is really a critically important task, whether these groups are on the left or the right."

Reid called for the passage of the Disclose Act, which would require big-spending outside groups to disclose their donors. The bill died in the face of Republican opposition.

"So again I ask, where was the outrage of the Republicans then?" Reid said. "While we must stop these abuses by the IRS, we must also crack down on the efforts of Karl Rove and others to exploit our tax code and pour unlimited amounts of money into our political system, masquerading as social welfare."

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), speaking to reporters on Tuesday, did not reference what happened during the Bush administration, instead comparing it the misdeeds of President Richard Nixon.

"I've never seen anything quite like this, except in the past, during the Nixon years," he said.

Reid also charged that Republicans were being dishonest in their concern about the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi terrorist attacks, saying their outrage was "about smear politics and nothing else."

"Earlier this year, they didn't say a word when Republicans held up for months and months security funding of our embassies," he said. "They're still doing this. ... The real fact is, Republicans are more concerned about giving President Obama a black eye and taking shots at Secretary Clinton than actually tracking down the people who performed these outrageous acts of terrorism and bringing them to justice."

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Politicians React To IRS Scandal

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"This is pretty straightforward," Obama said at a press conference. "If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that is outrageous, and there is no place for it, and they have to be held fully accountable, because the IRS as an independent agency requires absolute integrity and people have to have confidence that they are applying the laws in a non-partisan way. You should feel that way regardless of party."
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Rubio penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew demanding the IRS commissioner's resignation. The letter begins:
"Recent revelations about the Internal Revenue Service’s selective and deliberate targeting of conservative organizations are outrageous and seriously concerning. This years-long abuse of government power is an assault on the free speech rights of all Americans. This direct assault on our Constitution further justifies the American people’s distrust in government and its ability to properly implement our laws."
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"The admission by the Obama administration that the Internal Revenue Service targeted political opponents echoes some of the most shameful abuses of government power in 20th-century American history. Today, we are left with serious questions: who is ultimately responsible for this travesty? What actions will the Obama administration take to hold them accountable? And have other federal agencies used government powers to attack Americans for partisan reasons? House Republicans have made oversight of federal agencies a top priority on behalf of the American people, and I applaud the work that members such as Charles Boustany, Darrell Issa and Jim Jordan have done to bring this issue to light. I also strongly support Sen. McConnell’s call for a transparent, government-wide review to ensure similar practices are not happening elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy," Boehner said in a statement.
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Buchanan also wrote a letter calling for the IRS commissioner's resignation. His letter reads:
"On March 22, 2012, as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which oversees the IRS, we heard then-Commissioner Douglas Shulman clearly state that the IRS did not engage in the practices of which it is now accused saying "there is absolutely no targeting." Yet, less than a year earlier, Commissioner Shulman's own deputy, Lois Lerner, was made aware that such malpractice had indeed occurred. It became evident that groups with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names were extremely vulnerable to auditing harassment. Even nonprofit organizations that sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution were unfairly singled out for scrutiny. The nation's trust in government was betrayed by this unconscionable behavior. On behalf of my constituents, your immediate response is not only warranted but essential to clearing up a matter that would have our founding fathers rolling in their graves."
(AP Photo/Steve Nesius, File)

"It is unconscionable that the IRS deliberately targeted individuals based on their political beliefs. Absolutely no one should come under extra scrutiny from the IRS because of their political affiliation. It’s simply un-American," Paulsen said in a statement.
(Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I have long been concerned with reports that the IRS has unfairly targeted some political groups over others – a charge that they have repeatedly denied. In March 2012, I sent IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman a letter demanding an explanation of this unacceptable behavior. Now, more than a year later, the IRS has admitted to what we have long suspected – it was targeting tea party groups. The IRS’s actions are unacceptable, and I commend Chairman Dave Camp and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany for moving forward with a full investigation. We will continue to work to ensure there are protections in place so no American, regardless of political affiliation, has their right to free speech threatened by the IRS," Marchant said in a statement.
(Photo By Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this slideshow incorrectly identified Udall as a Republican.

“Today’s revelation that the IRS targeted average Americans using taxpayer dollars solely for disagreeing with them politically is completely unacceptable from this Administration.
“Partisan politics have consistently characterized this White House, and the Administration must take immediate disciplinary action and ensure American citizens are not subject to this type of Orwellian persecution again," Cornyn said in a statement.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)